Motherboards + RMA question

[chrisbek]

I have a general question and I am hoping someone can help me out.

On boxing day I ordered a Asus P6X58D-E Socket 1366 from my local store www.canadacomputers.com.

I asked the store agent how long it would take for the board to come in. The agent tells me it will take about 2 to 3 weeks.

So I ask the agent to go ahead and order me the board.

Also while i'm at the store on boxing day I purchase some other necessary parts I will need when the motherboard comes in.

So I get a power supply, solid state drive and new graphics card. All the parts have a 30 day warranty. Because my board will come in 2 to 3 weeks I should be able to assemble my computer, test all the parts and if anything goes wrong I will still be within the 30 day warranty period.

So long store short. The board comes in on January 21, 2011. I'm of course happy and I am about to pay for the board when I see a sticker that says "OPEN BOX". I ask the agent what is this. He looks at me and says I don't know.

Turns out the board he is trying to sell me is a RMA'd board. The agent calls the assistant manager. He tells me that don't worry even though the board is RMA'd it is still a new board.

I look at the assistant manager because I use to work in warranty myself processing RMA's for cell phones and other types of products and I tell him this is a reconditioned/refurbished board. He insists to me its a brand new board. I look at the board and it is covered with finger prints on it. The Q-Shield is bent. In addition some of the cables and other components that are suppose to come with the board are missing. The only good thing I can tell is that the board has all the CPU pins intact.

I tell him that this board is not a new board. I tell him its either a reconditioned/refurbished board. He still insists its brand new board from Asus even though its an RMA and open box product.

So for my question who should I believe? Does Asus provide new boards for RMA's????

Should I buy the board?

Also if I don't buy the board how should I handle the issue with the other parts? I only bought them as I was promised the board would come in 2 to 3 weeks and this way I would still be within warranty for the other parts.

 

[Novuake]

Warranties are MUCH longer than just 30 Days. 1 to 5 years mostly.
The board should have a 1, 2 or 3 year warranty.

If you are unsure, don't buy the board, find one somewhere else.

BUT why are you getting 1366 socket hardware? The socket is being retired and there would be no point in buying it.

Also yes, ASUS does replace there parts that have been RMA'd with new unopened boxed items.

RMA'd parts that are still functioning are usually stripped and reused(but only individual transistors)

 

[kajabla]

You should be sold a new board if that's what you're promised.
Do you have a CPU yet? If not, skip 1366.

 

[chrisbek]

Warranties are MUCH longer than just 30 Days. 1 to 5 years mostly.
The board should have a 1, 2 or 3 year warranty.

If you are unsure, don't buy the board, find one somewhere else.

BUT why are you getting 1366 socket hardware? The socket is being retired and there would be no point in buying it.

Also yes, ASUS does replace there parts that have been RMA'd with new unopened boxed items.

RMA'd parts that are still functioning are usually stripped and reused(but only individual transistors)

To answer your question I have boxed i950 I got last year. I had purchased 2 as the price was really nice. I built my first build and was planning to build a 2nd pc at a later date.

However family matters, work and other things came up that prevented me to get the 2nd computer built.

If I didn't have the i950 sealed retail box I would defiently build a socket 1155 system with 2500k or 2600k.


As to my question when you do a RMA through Asus for a board do they provide you with a "BRAND NEW BOARD" or "Reconditioned/Refurbished Board".

 

[kajabla]

If you're buying a new board, their responsibility is to get you a new, working board, not a refurbished one. You shouldn't get stuck with a refurbished board just because Asus screwed up the first time. Definitely brand new.
Is this an RMA, though? You made it sound like a new purchase.

 

[jaquith]

Personally I would tell Canadian Computers to refund me 100% and return everything and use either NewEgg - http://www.newegg.ca/ or NCIX - http://ncix.com/

An 'Open Box' is a RETURN and a 'Refurbished' is repaired. There's no confusing the two, and the Salesman should know this all too well. Often folks buy a MOBO to either 'steal' then accessories or some have even attempted to swap-out their old MOBO; therefore COMPARE the S/N on the BOX to the MOBO to see if they indeed match-up; the S/N is typically on the back of the MOBO next to the CPU back plate.

 

[chrisbek]

If you're buying a new board, their responsibility is to get you a new, working board, not a refurbished one. You shouldn't get stuck with a refurbished board just because Asus screwed up the first time. Definitely brand new.
Is this an RMA, though? You made it sound like a new purchase.

Yeah the description is not too clear but this is what happened.

Canadacomputers has multiple stores (28 to be exact). When I was at the store in my home town I asked the rep I need the Asus P6X58D-E Socket 1366.

I ask the store agent on boxing day can you order this for me. He checks and says "YES" we can. He looks on their computer systems and sees they still have one left in stock at their Montreal store location. I asked him how long it would take to get here? He told me it would take about 2 to 3 weeks for the board to come in. I said that's fine go ahead and order the board for me.

I have ordered parts before in the past from canadacomputers and they always come in brand new/sealed condition. Even the sales agents know this.

He places the order and eventually the board comes in. However what the sales agent did not know is the the board was an open box (AKA return) and the system does not show this.

Eventually the mobo came in. I go in to pick up the mobo only to see a sticker on the MOBO box that says "open box". I ask the agent what does that mean? He looks up the board and find out it was an open box because the original board would not POST.

He explains to me further a customer must have had a problem with the original board within 15 days from the date of sale. When this occurs the store takes back the defective board and provides a brand new sealed boxed replacement.

The agent then explained once the customer has the new board they take back the defective board and it is then RMA'd by Canadacomputers. When the RMA comes back they put it back up for sale as an open box product with a discounted price. Anyone who wishes to purchase the board is made aware why the box is opened and if they wish can purchase the board at a cheaper price.

I went back today to the store and spoke with the store manager. The manager understood the mistake and explained to me the store in Montreal just recently opened up and apologized for the mistake. It was an error on the store's part as the item was not listed on the system as a open box product when it was ordered. I asked the manager is it possible to order a brand new sealed product. He then explained to me he can't order the board anymore as its no longer made/available for the store to order from the manufacturer ASUS.

I said that's no problem as I can order it from another store. However the problem still remained with regards to the hard drive, power supply and graphics card I had purchased on Boxing day.

I explained to the manager that I only purchased those items because they came with a 30 day instore warranty. Since the board was expected to come in 2 to 3 weeks this would still give me time to assemble my computer, test it and if there are any problems I would still be within 30 days warranty for the other parts. However because of the mobo mistake I have no way to make/assemble a computer and make certain the other parts work and will soon be out of the 30 day warranty.

The manager said don't worry we will extend the warranty by another 30 days. He explained go ahead and purchase the board from another store (as no other alternative boards were available to me for purchase instore). When you have the new board come back and shows me the sales reciept for it and we will then extend the warranty another 30 days for the other parts I had purchased.

So to sum it up they took care of the problem and tried their best to resolve the issue. I am happy. I will be planning to get the board from another competitor in about a week or two.

Besides the minor erritation that happened canadacomputers is still a good store.

 

[kajabla]

tl; still read. Sounds good.

 

[chrisbek]

tl; still read. Sounds good.

Yeah it is too long too read sorry for long story